


rhythmic steps

by silentglare



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Background Relationships, Canon Compliant, M/M, implied kagehina, minor daisuga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26177551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentglare/pseuds/silentglare
Summary: But still, Tadashi would grab onto any small sliver of hope that Tsukki could be his soulmate.Even if there was a very small percent chance of it ever happening.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 141





	rhythmic steps

Tadashi’s house was only an eight-minute walk from Tsukishima’s, and only about a minute or two by car. Tsukki’s house was closer to the school, and as such Tadashi usually met him at his doorstep. From there, the two would be on their way. It was routine, just like his classes and volleyball practices. But for Tadashi, it was one of his favorite parts of the day. Something about the calm of the morning, the way the air was a bit cold, how the morning dew still hung onto the grass and leaves, and how when Tsukki had finished waking himself up, he’d take off his headphones and start talking to him.

Tsukki’s headphones were a very iconic piece of him, just like his glasses and his height. Tadashi wasn’t sure what brand they were but they were white and wired. He would usually play all kinds of different music, ranging from Japanese alternative rock to soft English indie music. It was a wide variety, but something that felt irrevocably Tsukki.

Something Tsukki didn’t seem to know was that his headphones were not soundproof. They were actually quite loud! This was how Tadashi knew what kind of music his friend listened to. He had tried telling him once that he could hear his music, but was ignored. Tadashi guessed that he either didn’t hear or care. It was more likely the latter.

Tadashi smiled to himself, stepping onto the Tsukishima’s front step. Today was like any other day, and he knocked on the door, waiting for his friend to step outside. Taking a step back so he wouldn’t get hit, Tadashi hummed to himself as he heard footsteps approach the entryway. The door swung open, revealing Tsukishima Kei in all his glory.

“Hey, Tsukki!” Tadashi greeted, grinning. He knew Tsukki probably wouldn’t respond, and he was proven right as Tsukki only gave him a hum of acknowledgment. He hovered in the doorway, trying to find music on his phone before closing the door behind him. He started walking, and Tadashi fell step right next to him, putting his hands in the pockets of his warm-up jacket.

It wasn’t that Tsukishima was purposefully ignoring Tadashi for malicious reasons; he had been like this since they met. Tsukki just didn’t always feel like talking if it was inconvenient for him. He most likely didn’t say hi back to Tadashi because he was preoccupied with picking his music. It was one of the many things Tadashi had gotten used to by being Tsukki’s friend. It didn’t really matter that much to Tadashi anyways, although it was always a bonus when he _wasn’t_ ignored.

As the two fell into a mutual silence, they began their fifteen-minute walk to the school. It wasn’t entirely pleasant, but at least they didn’t live thirty minutes away, like Hinata. Tadashi still didn’t understand how the small boy was able to bike _up_ the mountain to the school every morning and then back home in the evening, but it did explain how he had so much stamina.

Tadashi tuned out of his thoughts and started listening to what song Tsukki had playing today. For once, it was actually one he was unfamiliar with, but it sounded good so he’d probably look up the lyrics later during school. He glanced at Tsukki---focused on the sidewalk in front of him---before quickly glancing away. 

He would probably never admit it to anyone else, but Tadashi always thought Tsukki was attractive. Part of it was probably because he had a huge crush on him, which was already embarrassing enough to admit, even if it was only to himself. Tadashi knew he acted kind of obvious at times, but Tsukki hadn’t said anything so far, and he’s pretty sure he’s safe. 

Tadashi never thought of ever seriously confessing to Tsukishima. Right now, being his best friend was good enough.

☾

After practice, the boys found themselves in a state of limbo. For once, practice had ended early; there wasn’t anything especially up and coming at the moment, and Coach Ukai had mentioned that they seemed to need some rest. It was too early to go to classes and, while they _could_ wander the halls, the team had decided to hang out in the gym instead, talking amongst themselves. Tadashi loved when this happened because the conversations always took the most interesting turns.

Tadashi has seated himself in between Yachi and Hinata, the three of them began talking about a graphic design project Yachi was working on. From what Tadashi could tell, she was really passionate about design, and was thinking about possibly pursuing it as a career, which Tadashi thought she would be really good at!

“So, Yamaguchi, remember when you scored all those pinch serves at the Seijoh game?” Tadashi blinked, bringing his focus onto Yachi to his right. He nodded. “Well, all those serves kind of inspired me to make another poster, and uh, you totally don’t have to do these if you don’t want to!” Yachi smiled nervously, waving her hands in front of her face. “But I was wondering if I could take some pictures of you for it? Starting a serve? I just think it’d look really cool, but you obviously don’t have to if you don’t want to!”

Tadashi hummed, thinking it over. He remembered the poster Yachi made of Hinata, and it had turned out pretty good. However, Tadashi just wasn’t sure he’d be a good enough fit for the poster. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to have Kageyama or Asahi on the poster, though? They have way more powerful serves.”

Yachi frowned. “I mean, I guess their serves have more power to them, but yours are just as good, Yamaguchi! You managed to score a ton of points!”

“Yeah!” Hinata cut in, excitable as always. “I thought you were just gonna keep going! Your servers were amazing!” Tadashi felt his cheeks warm, and he looked down at the ground.

“...Thanks,” he mumbled, a bit embarrassed at the praise, but appreciative of it nonetheless. 

“Also, your serves are what inspired me to make the posters,” Yachi smiled, tilting her head. “So I feel it’s only fair if you’re the one who’s on it.”

“You should definitely be on the poster, Yamaguchi, it was really fun when I was on it!” Hinata encouraged, clenching his hands into fists and shaking them excitedly. 

Tadashi gave a small huff of laughter, lips quirking upwards. “I think I will, then! You guys sure seem insistent.” He paused for a moment. “Though you’ll have to show me the finished product before you post it or whatever. I need to make sure I don’t look weird.”

Yachi giggled. “I’ll be able to do that, don’t worry!” The three of them smiled at each other, hyped about the possible poster that was coming into the works. 

Suddenly, twin gasps were heard from Tanaka and Nishinoya, and the three of them turned their heads to where the two were gaping at Daichi and Sugawara. Daichi was rolling his eyes and Sugawara was a bit exasperated, but the two both had a light flush on their cheeks.

“What’s going on?” Hinata asked, leaping over to the two second years. Tadashi was also intrigued; while it wasn’t uncommon for Tanaka and Nishinoya to be loud, he was curious as to why the captain and vice-captain were both blushing. He spared a quick glance at Tsukishima, who looked a bit curious too. Well, he actually looked uninterested to the normal person, but Tadashi was not the normal person.

“Mom and Dad have been keeping a secret from us,” Tanaka said dramatically, and Tadashi let out a small huff of laughter.

“Don’t call us that,” Daichi muttered, but Sugawara seemed to find the joke hilarious, cracking a grin. Something Tadashi had noticed not shortly after he had joined the team was that Suga’s appearance was deceiving. He looked like he was very polite, but in reality... he could sometimes be as chaotic as Tanaka and Noya. And that was saying something.

“They’ve been hiding the fact…” Noya stopped, making the silence as dramatic as possible. Tadashi caught Tsukki rolling his eyes, “...that they’re soulmates!”

Tadashi’s eyes widened, and he turned back to his captain and vice captain. The two of them were soulmates? What were the odds? Daichi covered his face with his hands, clearly embarrassed. Suga lightly covered his mouth, clearly snickering behind it. “It’s not that big of a deal, you guys,” the vice captain smiled. “Lots of people find their soulmates at school.”

“What kind of identifier do you have?” Hinata asked, seemingly curious. Daichi removed his hands, glancing at the redhead.

“The red string. The most basic one,” he answered, holding up his pinky. Tadashi watched as Suga lifted up his as well. He looked at the space in between. Although it could only be seen by the soulmates themselves, there was supposedly a red string in the space between their pinkies. “How about you guys, huh? Have any of you found your soulmates yet?”

The room was silent.

Suga smiled softly. “Alright, what are your guys’ identifiers, then? Assuming you’ve already found out what it is.” 

This brought out some reactions.

“I have the writing one!” Hinata called out, “except my soulmate doesn’t write much!” He pouted for a moment, crossing his arms, before brightening again. “I write enough for my soulmate, though, so it’s okay that they rarely do. And who knows? Maybe they just suck at writing!”

Tanaka snorted, and lifted his forearm, revealing a black mark. “Supposedly, when my soulmate touches this, it’s supposed to burst into color before returning to, y’know, my skin color.” He paused, and his voice dipped down to a whisper. “Kiyoko hasn’t touched me yet.”

Noya grinned, “Imagine the odds of her being your soulmate, dude!” The two rowdy boys looked at each other, wiggling their eyebrows.

“What’s yours, Kageyama?” Hinata asked, and all eyes fell upon the setter, who gulped.

“Uh, no clue,” he shrugged. “I never really got a sign or something.” Kageyama almost looked… nervous? Why was he so nervous?

“He’s lying,” Tsukki muttered, suddenly next to Tadashi. Tadashi turned around, tilting his head. “He’s almost sweating, he’s so nervous. I’m willing to bet Hinata’s his soulmate but he doesn’t want to reveal it.”

Tadashi looked from Kageyama, to Hinata, and back to Kageyama. He could see it. “Actually, that makes sense,” he chuckled. “I don’t think any regular duo could do that freak quick of theirs.” Tadashi looked back over at Hinata, but accidentally made eye contact. Oops.

“What about you, Yamaguchi? What’s yours?” Hinata looked at him expectantly, as did everyone else. Tadashi laughed awkwardly.

“No idea,” he shrugged. “I’m guessing it’s something specific since I have no clue what it is.” He bit his lip, feeling anxious under prying eyes. Hinata just shrugged and turned to Tsukki, who answered before the middle blocker even opened his mouth.

“I have no idea who my soulmate is, or what my soulmate tell is. I’m a first year in high school, I’ll figure it out eventually. Also, I just don’t really care about the whole thing right now.” Tsukki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking Hinata dead in the eye. “Anyways, I’m not the one too dumb to figure out who my soulmate is.”

Kageyama choked. Hinata ignored him in favor of squinting at Tsukishima. “What do you mean?” Tsukki only smirked before looking away, ignoring Hinata’s questioning. His rapidly increasing volume sure was making it difficult, though.

“Was the teasing really necessary?” Tadashi asked, raising an eyebrow at Tsukki. The blonde only snickered to himself. Sighing, Tadashi looked back at Hinata, who was now arguing with Kageyama. Of course, they argued a lot, so it wasn’t like this was anything new.

At the beginning of the year, Tadashi probably wouldn’t have hesitated to laugh at Tsukki’s teasing remarks, but after being in Karasuno for a bit, he found that Hinata was actually one of his friends, and he felt sorta bad going along with it, even if he was only joking. It was the same with Kageyama, although Tadashi was just pretty sure the other just didn’t know how to interact with other people, which was slightly relatable, in a sense.

Tadashi tore his gaze away from the two, looking down at the ground, his heartbeat quickening as he came to a small realization. Tsukki didn’t know what his soulmate identifier was and neither did Tadashi. There was perhaps a small, small chance that they could be soulmates! Maybe the soulmate tell was just something neither of them could figure out. Tadashi frowned though, because if that was the case, what could the soulmate tell possibly be?

But still, Tadashi would grab onto any small sliver of hope that Tsukki could be his soulmate. Even if there was a very small percent chance of it ever happening. 

Letting out a soft exhale, he turned to the clock and noticed it was almost time for classes. He nudged Tsukki, muttering, “We should go.” The other nodded, and the two of them got up, making their way towards the school building.

☾ 

“How do you think you did on that test, Hinata?” Tadashi asked on their way to the Sakanoshita Store. Earlier that day they had an English test, one that Tadashi himself actually felt confident about. Last night he had stayed up studying, so if he didn’t get a good grade it would be somewhat embarrassing.

“Yachi helped me study during lunch, so hopefully I did okay!” Hinata smiled, practically bouncing in place. Even after practice, the small middle blocker was still energetic; Tadashi almost wished he had the other’s energy. Almost. “What about you, Tsukishima?”

Tsukki didn’t reply, because he had his headphones on. Hinata scoffed. “Rude! Why does he always have his headphones on, anyways? He could at least talk to us.” Tadashi chuckled a bit, looking at his friend who was ignoring the two of them.

“Tsukki’s quite introverted, so after a long day I think he needs time by himself to recharge,” he decided to explain, smiling down at Hinata. “People who are extroverts, like you, recharge by being around people.”

Hinata hummed. “I… guess that makes sense. What are you then? An extro-whatever or an intro-whatever?”

“It’s extrovert and introvert, and I’m an introvert, though I wouldn’t say as much as Tsukki,” Tadashi corrected, hopping over a pothole in the street. He felt his stomach growl and he laughed softly. “Man, I can’t wait to get to the store! Think Coach will let us get food on the house again?”

“I wish!” Hinata exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I don’t have any money on me today; I spent it all at lunch!” He brought his hands down and crossed his arms, muttering, “I really want meat buns.”

“Me too, Hinata,” Tadashi said, snickering a bit at his friend’s behavior. The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, uncommon in Hinata’s presence. The only sound that could really be heard was Tsukki’s headphones, playing yet another song Tadashi didn’t recognize. He must have downloaded some new music.

Tadashi watched Hinata squint, and then poke Tsukki. Tadashi gaped, wondering what compelled Hinata to do that. He literally just explained that Tsukki was introverted and needed time to recharge. Tsukki, obviously, ignored Hinata, but that only compelled the other to poke him again… repeatedly. Finally, Tsukki growled and tore off his headphones. “What?” He asked, clearly annoyed.

“What kind of music are you listening to?” Hinata questioned. Tadashi tilted his head. Was he unable to hear it? Except that was impossible because Tsukki’s headphones were really… not good at keeping the music in. Hinata should be able to hear the music.

“None of your business.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes. Maybe Hinata was just wondering what the name of the song is? The type of music was obvious! Tsukki was listening to some alternative Japanese rock music. The whole situation didn’t make any sense.

“Okay, fine, don’t tell me, at least give me a hint though! Like, what genre of music? I’ve always wondered what kind of stuff you listened to in those headphones of yours!” Hinata stopped, putting his hands on his hips. Tadashi’s eyebrows raised as far as they could go. Was the other simply deaf? How could he possibly not hear what Tsukki was listening to?

Actually, this was Hinata he was talking about, and the other wasn’t always the brightest bulb in the shed. Maybe he just wasn’t focusing entirely on the music and couldn’t tell what it was? Wasn’t that called, like, ADD or something? Tadashi huffed to himself, lost.

“Aw, c’mon Hinata,” Tadashi sighed softly, shaking his head. The other two looked at him, and they both looked confused. 

“...What?” Hinata frowned. 

Tadashi’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean, what? This is like, a joke or just you being weird or something, right?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Hinata replied, sounding as confused as Tadashi felt. “I’m just asking Stingyshima what kind of music he listened to!”

“But you can literally hear the music? Like, it’s very clear, you should be able to figure out what genre it is…” Tadashi faltered off, as Hinata’s expression did not change and Tsukki brought a hand to his face. What was going on? Suddenly, a look of what appeared to be understanding fell upon Hinata’s face, and he looked from Tadashi to Tsukki, back to Tadashi. Tadashi really felt like he was missing something.

“Um…Yamaguchi, Tsukki’s headphones are like... soundproof. I can’t hear a thing,” Hinata bit his lip and then wobbled in place. “I’m hungry... so I’m gonna go get some meat buns, see you tomorrow!” And then he had the audacity to run off!

“Wh…” Tadashi turned to where Hinata had run to and then looked back at Tsukki. “What? What does he mean?”

Tsukki sighed, bringing his hand down from his face and grabbed his other hand, fidgeting with it for a moment. Tadashi had long since learned that the other did that whenever he was nervous or felt out of place, except there was nothing to be nervous about. If anyone was to be nervous, it was Tadashi because he had _zero_ clue as to what was going on!

“My headphones are soundproof,” Tsukki stated, looking up at Tadashi. “Whenever I wear them around my family, they can’t hear a thing.”

“No, they’re not,” Tadashi argued. “Ever since you’ve gotten them, whenever we’ve walked to or from school I can hear the music loud and clear! It literally feels like it’s blaring whenever I walk next to you!”

Tsukishima remained silent, and Tadashi crossed his arms, confused and almost kind of angry? There had to be a reasonable explanation to this, there was no possible way that Tsukki’s headphones were soundproof to literally everyone except Tadashi. It made no sense.

Except it did. Oh… 

Tadashi froze, and looked up at Tsukki, eyes wide. No one but Tadashi was able to hear Tsukki’s music… but he remembered looking up soulmate tells when he was younger. One of them was that the closer you got to your soulmate, the louder the music they were listening to was.

No wonder the music always sounded so loud--- Tadashi always made sure to walk next to Tsukki.

“I guess we’re soulmates... or something,” the blonde said, glancing off, unaware that he had practically just spit out Tadashi’s thoughts. Tadashi’s eyes only widened, and he was rendered speechless. There was no way that this was real. Tsukki, his soulmate? Was he lucid dreaming?

Biting his lip, Tadashi concluded that he wasn’t. Somehow, this was his reality. Tsukki really was his soulmate, and they happened to have a somewhat rare soulmate tell. What were the odds? Probably one in like, a gazillion. 

Tadashi really couldn’t believe his luck, though. His best friend, his crush of a couple years was his soulmate! That was amazing! He smiled to himself, before quickly dropping it. Yeah, it was good for him, but what about Tsukki? He probably was looking forward to having someone else as a soulmate. Tadashi gulped.

“I guess we are,” Tadashi finally replied, looking off to the side. Anywhere but Tsukki. “Umm… we’re probably just platonic soulmates or something. I know like the good majority of them aren’t but, uh, and not saying I-!” Tadashi stopped himself. Did he really want to admit that he’d be okay with having a romantic soulmate bond with Tsukki? 

That was embarrassing...

Tsukki huffed, stepping closer. Tadashi looked up hesitantly, locking eyes with the other. “Do you want to be more?” His best friend asked, raising an eyebrow. Tadashi gulped. Obviously, yeah, but he was scared shitless to admit it out loud! He took a deep breath, considering his options. It would… probably be better to be honest in the long run. That’s what Tsukki deserved, at least.

“I mean… yeah, I’d love to um, date you and stuff, because I have this kind of obvious crush on you?” Tadashi wanted to die. He really just admitted that out loud. Tsukki’s expression softened for a minute, and Tadashi really wanted to know what _that_ meant. “But what about you? Because you don’t seem really enthusiastic about the whole idea.”

Tsukki sighed and shook his head, but there was a small smile on his face. He was smiling! That was good, right? “You know how I am, Tadashi.”

“Too embarrassed to express any sort of emotion?” Tadashi teased, cheeks still red from his confession. Tsukki snorted.

“I mean... pretty much. But... yeah, I wouldn’t mind going out with you either.” He broke eye contact, unknowingly dropping a weight onto Tadashi’s heart. Tsukki wouldn’t mind going out with him?

“Are- are you sure?” Tadashi asked, double-checking. He wanted to be _completely_ sure that Tsukki actually wanted to date him. “Like, are you saying that just to be nice or do you have a genuine crush on me?”

Tsukki rolled his eyes, but instead of replying he stepped even closer, that damned smile still on his face as he pressed his lips to Tadashi’s. He stepped back, cheeks tinted slightly red. “Does that answer your question for you?”

Tadashi felt like his brain had stopped working. He… Tsukki just kissed him. On the lips. “I-,” Tadashi was pretty sure his face was literally bright red. “You kissed me.”

“...yeah. Thanks for stating the obvious,” Tsukki smirked. Tadashi hit him on the shoulder, mind still trying to process what happened. His best friend kissed him and it wasn’t a dream. It was real life. He had a soulmate, he knew what his soulmate tell was, and he knew who his soulmate was.

And if Tsukki kissed him, then that meant he liked him back, right? “Does that mean you like me back?” Tadashi asked, just to make sure. It didn’t hurt to _triple_ check, right? Tsukki only groaned, bringing a hand to his face, before sliding it off.

“Yes! I’m trying to avoid saying it because it’s embarrassing as hell but I obviously like you back! I even kissed you! Why would I kiss you if I didn’t like you back?” Tadashi listened to Tsukki’s outburst and started to snicker.

“I… I don’t know, I just had to check okay? You wouldn’t understand,” Tadashi grinned. The inner workings of his mind were a slight catastrophe.

“I mean, I kind of do understand,” Tsukki said, “I haven’t been your best friend since middle school for nothing, right?” Tadashi opened his mouth to reply, but couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. He knew he’d say the same thing for Tsukki because it was right. They really did just understand each other the best.

Tsukki pulled out his phone, checking something. “Sakanoshita closes in fifteen minutes, do you still want to get something?” Tadashi gaped. Time really did go by fast!

“Yeah, god I’m still hungry, do you want me to pay? Since it’s kind of my fault we had to uh… stop, and all that,” Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and started to walk again, Tsukki falling into step next to him.

“Technically, it was Hinata’s fault if you think about it, so we should make him pay,” Tsukki offered. Tadashi laughed, nodding in agreement. If Hinata hadn’t decided to annoy Tsukki, then they wouldn’t be in this situation.

“We should make him pay, but I think we should also thank him, y’know?” Tadashi smiled. In fact, now that Tadashi thought about it, Hinata was quick to leave during the whole situation. The middle blocker must have realized they were soulmates before Tadashi even had a clue. He was smarter than the others gave him credit for. 

Tsukki rolled his eyes, probably disgusted at the thought of thanking Hinata. “I guess,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Tadashi only grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading  
> find me on tumblr @silentglare  
> thank you [justelise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justelise) for betaing my fic, it means a lot


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